From Past to Present
by Jrok
Summary: Five years after his sister's murder, Dean embarks on an adventure across Hoenn that pits him up against the Archangels, a chaotic gang without any codes or honor, a stalker who seems to know more about Dean's past than he does, and the Magma Remnants, surviving members of the original Team Magma determined to see their original goals through.
1. Something in the air

(A/N: Hey, just a quick note before we get started. This story shares a universe with my buddy SimoneandThomasTogetherForever's pokemon stories. As a result, character from those stories may make appearances in this one, and vice versa. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the first chapter!)

"...and tensions have begun to rise since a gang known as Team Magma has moved into the area. Despite the recent spike in crime rates, authorities have assured us that the majority of offenses have remained petty and non-violent in nature."

Dean Shepard, 12, watched the news with a wide eyed silence only a boy his age could have. It seemed, to him, that he was trapped behind some sort of glass barrier. All around him amazing things were happening- trainers were going on incredible journeys with their faithful Pokemon at their side, while Dean was stuck at home studying. He longed for a Pokemon of his own- to travel the world in search of fame and fortune, just like his sister. Instead, the only Pokemon he had exposure to was his fathers Zigzagoon.

"And in other news, Norman has officially announced the reopening of his gym," the anchorman reported, "skilled trainers are no doubt eager to prove their worth in a battle against the seasoned gym leader, and-"

A knock at the door snapped Dean out of his trance.

"Dean, honey," his mother called from outside the room, "it's time for breakfast. Hurry up or you're going to be late for school!"

Dean sighed, grabbed his remote, and switched off the television. He grabbed his favorite jacket, and examined his appearance in the mirror briefly; his brown hair was getting shaggy, and obscured his icy blue eyes.

Need a trim, he thought as he slung his bag over his shoulders and headed downstairs.

His mother was already waiting in the kitchen, and smiled when she saw him.

"Food's on the table, honey," she smiled, "you'll have to hurry though, we need to leave soo-"

The doorbell rang, startling them both. There was no reason anyone should be visiting them this early, and the postman didn't come for another few hours.

"I'll go see who that is. You start eating, okay?"

Dean sat down, and watched as his mother strolled across the room, and over to the door. She peered through the eyehole for a few seconds, and bit her lower lip before open opening the door to reveal an official-looking man in a suit.

"Mrs. Shepard?" The man asked.

"Yes, that's me," she nodded, "can I help you?"

Dean watched the two as he ate his breakfast. He was beginning to have a sinking feeling in his stomach- something had to be wrong. The man's tone of voice sounded... guilty, almost, and he couldn't seem to stop his hands from fidgeting.

"I'm... I'm sorry, is your husband home?" The man asked.

"No, he left for work about an hour ago," Dean's mother replied, crossing her arms, "why? Is he in trouble?"

"No," the man said, hanging his head, "I wish it were something as simple as that. It's, about your daughter, Clementine."

Dean perked up at the mention of his sister. He looked up to her very much, despite the fact that he barely saw her anymore. Dean's mother, however, looked horrified.

"Clem? Oh my god, is she alright?"

"She's... Clementine is dead, Mrs. Shepard. She was... killed two days ago. They found her body in Slateport. I'm so sorry."

There was a slight clank of metal as Dean dropped his fork to the floor. His jaw hung open, and he was unable to turn his gaze from the man standing in the doorway. His mother's reaction was not as instantaneous- she stood there for a while, unmoving before slowly shaking her head and taking a step back.

"No," she said, "no, that can't be. That can't... no, please tell me..."

Tears began to well up in her eyes as a hand raised to her mouth. The man turned his head, unable to meet her gaze- only to find himself trapped in Dean's. The man knew it would be hard enough to deliver the news to two grieving parents, but seeing the boy's heartbroken expression was a blow he didn't expect to recover from anytime soon.

Then Dean noticed a sudden change in the man. He still looked genuinely remorseful, but there was... a quick spark in his eyes.

"Is that your son, Dean?" He asked.

Mrs. Shepard let out a sob, but nodded her head. The man gestured Dean over. The boy brushed away the tears that had formed in his eyes, and slowly made his way over.

"Son, I can't imagine what you're going through," the man sighed, kneeling down to Dean's level, "and I'll leave you two soon enough. But your sister made it very clear in her will that if anything were to happen to her, I was to give you this."

The man reached into his pocket, and pulled out a pokeball, extending his arm for Dean to take it.

Dean hesitated a moment, but took the pokeball from the mans hand, a look of uncertainty on his face. Dean fumbled with the pokeball for a second, and was startled when a beam of light shot out, and a second later a bewildered Grovyle was standing in the middle of the room.

The grovyle was covered in various scars, and had one milky white eye.

"Thane," the man said aloud. After a moment, he added, "she called him Thane."

There was a certain impact to these words that left Dean absolutely stunned, and before he could regain himself, the man was already gone and his mother was on the floor sobbing hysterically.

Dean looked at Thane, his mother, and the still-open door before he did the only thing he could do.

Dean rushed over to his mother, and she pulled him into a hug.

"It'll be okay," she choked out, "it'll all be okay."

**FIVE YEARS LATER**

"In retrospect, Ricardo thinks maybe it was not the best idea to challenge you."

Dean watched in amusement as the trainer across from him cowered behind a bush. They were just outside Rustboro city, and passerby occasionally stopped to watch the battle. At least they had before it was over. Now all that was left was an unconscious Marill that was lying on the side of the road, and Thane, who was standing next to Dean with an "I can't believe you called me out for this shit again" look on his face.

They were a rather odd pair. Thane, despite his size, was the definition of intimidating with his scars and cold glare. Dean, with his long brown hair, denim jacket and jeans, looked like an average highschooler- not a trainer.

"Ricardo also feels it would not be amiss to point out that he has a stomach ache," the trainer said, "also, Ricardo cannot be certain, but he's pretty sure you cheated."

Dean said nothing, but raised an eyebrow.

"Of course," Ricardo gulped, "Ricardo and Miss Fimbles could have just been having an off day."

With that, Ricardo got to his feet. He was about Dean's age, maybe a little older. He had long black hair, tan skin, and sported a rather pitiful mustache. He wore a Hawaiian t-shirt and black pants, both of which were now covered in mud and leaves.

"Eck. Ricardo's stylist is going to have a fit," he said, running a hand through his hair, "you've no idea how hard it is to maintain hair as glorious as Ricardo's."

Ricardo walked over, and held out a pokeball. A second later, and Miss Fimbles had vanished.

"Well, Ricardo supposes he had better be off to the pokemon center," Ricardo shrugged, "may you live long and-"

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Dean asked, holding out his hand.

"...oh, fine," Ricardo muttered, tossing him a sack of coin, "don't spend it all one place, you-"

Ricardo walked off, grumbling to himself. Dean snickered a little as he pocketed the coin, and like over at Thane, who was giving him an angry glare.

"Oh, what?" Dean scoffed, "Look, he challenged us."

Thane continued to cast a disapproving stare towards Dean, who shook his head.

"Okay, back in your pokeball," Dean said.

Before Thane could protest, he was already called back into his ball, which Dean examined for a moment.

It was nearly autumn, and the two had travelled the duration of the year together. They had wandered all around Hoenn, challenging trainers, and occasionally making stops in Mauville so Dean could gamble the money away. The two were not, by any means, close. Over the years, Dean had almost come to see Thane as a sort of guardian. Where ever he went, whatever he did, Thane was always there with his disapproving gaze. Thane, for his part, saw Dean the same way he did when they had met five years ago: a confused and scared child.

Dean sighed, and put away the ball. Thane was currently the only pokemon he had- he had just never really needed any others. But Dean realized if he were to keep on like he was, he would need to catch a few more.

But that could wait, right? Dean thought to himself as he began to walk the path towards Rustboro, after all, there were plenty of pokemon around the city- there was no reason they would just vanish overnight.

As Dean entered the city, he was nearly run over by a pack of kids leaving for school for the day.

"Sorry about that," a voice said, "you know how kids are."

Dean turned, and saw what must have been a teacher leaning on a building nearby.

"I saw your battle on my break," she continued, "I suppose if you're a trainer you must be here to challenge Roxanne."

"Uh, no, not really," Dean shrugged, "I was just looking for a place to spend the night, that's all."

"Oh," she said, visibly surprised, "that's a nice change of pace. Usually we get an influx of kids your age rushing in, full of themselves, only to leave about an hour later looking like they just sucked on a lemon."

"...yeah, that's great," Dean nodded, "but like I said, I'm just looking for a place to stay-"

"Oh, sorry," the teacher nodded, "there's a hotel right next to the pokemon center, can't miss it."

"Thanks," Dean nodded as he began to walk off.

As Dean headed towards the hotel, he paused to take in his surroundings. He had only been to Rustboro a handful of times, and even then the visits had been brief. It was a nice enough city, Dean supposed, but nothing really special.

At last he reached his destination- the hotel that was, to his surprise, actually quite nice. Despite appearing very plain on the outside, the inside had a rather fancy red carpet, various potted plants, and a few rather... abstract paintings that hung on the walls. At least, abstract is probably what an overly pretentious art aficionado would call them- to anyone else, they looked like random splotches and shapes.

After viewing the decorations for a while, Dean approached the front desk, which was finely carved and made of what looked like oak. At the front desk sat a bred looking older man, and beside him was a clefairy who greeted Dean with a smile and an enthusiastic wave.

"Room for one?" The man asked.

"Yeah," Dean nodded, "just for tonight."

The man nodded, and began to write something down in his guest book.

"I'm surprised you want to stay here," the man commented.

"Why's that?" Dean asked, eyeing one of the paintings.

"Ehh. Been word of trouble just outside town," He shrugged, "a new gang calling themselves the 'Archangels' rolled in. 'Course, they don't seem as organized as Team Magma or Aqua was, but you can never be too careful."

"Excuse me, did you say they were going by the name Archangels?" Dean asked.

Dean felt a sinking feeling in his stomach, but he couldn't tell why. Something about what the man said was bothering him greatly.

"I did, yeah," the clerk nodded, "they're holed up in the cave northeast of here. If you're thinking about going after them-"

Dean chuckled a little.

"No thanks. I'll leave playing the hero to the next kid with a death wish."

"At least you've got some common sense," the clerk said, "here's your bill. Room 218."

Dean eyed the slip of paper for a second, then pulled out a handful of coin and gave it to the man.

"Thanks," Dean said, "have a good night."

~o.0.o~

A few hours later, Dean lay awake in bed as Thane munched on some food.

"Archangels," Dean said to himself, "why can't I shake the feeling I've heard of these guys?"

Thane gave Dean a blank stare, which meant the grovyle didn't care in the least.

It was interesting- when Dean first started talking to the grovyle, he feared he had been going crazy. He wasn't sure if that was something normal trainers did, and more importantly, he figured Thane wouldn't even understand him. But over the years, he had come to realize Thane was unusually... expressive. Rather than make a typical pokemon cry, he would often make various gestures or expressions to illustrate his point. Dean had come to understand that, while maybe Thane didn't understand the words he spoke, he certainly understood Dean's tones and actions.

"Fine, be like that," Dean sighed, "honestly, it's like talking to a wall sometimes. A very judgemental wall."

Thane just shook his head and went back to eating.

Dean turned his head, and looked out of the room's only window. It was actually a very nice view, for what it was worth- but that wasn't what caught Dean's attention. What caught his attention was that, if he squinted hard enough, Dean realized he could make out the figure of someone standing under a street lamp, staring at him.

"The hell...?" Dean frowned.

Cocking his head to the side a little, Dean slid out of bed, and approached the window. Despite his efforts, he found himself unable to get a better view. The figure still stood motionless, continuing to stare straight at him. Dean found himself almost... hypnotized. He couldn't bring himself to look away. At least, not until a loud beeping pierced through the silence.

Snapping back to reality, Dean realized the noise was coming from his pokenav. He sighed, and yanked it out of his pocket- only to see that the call was coming from an unregistered number. Hesitantly, Dean answered.

"Hello?"

Silence.

"Who-"

"The pokemart. Tomorrow."

Then the line went dead. Dean stared at the pokenav in disbelief, before returning his gaze to the window. The figure was gone. Dean drew the blinds over the window, now completely unnerved. Thane, who picked up on this, had a concerned look on his face.

"What the hell?" Dean frowned, "Just, what the hell?"

~o.0.o~

Dean checked out early the next morning, and soon enough found himself wandering the city aimlessly. He didn't really have any particular goals in mind that day, and as a result grew bored very quickly.

After a while, however, he came within site of the pokemart, and his mind drifted to the call he had received the night before. He froze, and stood in place, eyeing the building suspiciously. He was pretty sure that anyone with common sense would probably avoid any location tied to shadowy figures and mysterious pokenav calls, but he sure enough he found himself walking towards the shop anyway. If something were to happen, so be it.

Much to his surprise, however, there was nothing at all happening in the shop once he entered. Well, nothing interesting- a few customers were browsing wares, and the cashier was sweeping up some broken glass.

"Huh," he said aloud, looking around, "weird."

Just then, Dean spotted a familiar looking figure over by the back of the store.

"Hey," Dean called, walking over.

Ricardo spun around, a smile on his face that quickly turned into a look of determination when he saw Dean.

"So!" Ricardo laughed, "Ricardo supposes you followed him here for a rematch, yes? You couldn't accept your loss, could you?"

"What?" Dean frowned, "No, idiot. Were you the one who called me last night?"

"Called you?" Ricardo frowned, "Why would Ricardo call you?"

"Look, I don't know," Dean shrugged, "I got a weird call last night telling me to come here today."

"Ah," Ricardo nodded, "perhaps it was a telemarketer."

With that, he went back to browsing the wares.

Dean shook his head, and was about to leave the store when he saw two men enter the store.

They were each wearing black trench coats, gloves, and combat boots. Most interesting of all though were the masks. They were shiny porcelain things, not unlike what you would see at a masquerade.

An alarm went off in Dean's head, and he immediately ducked behind cover. Ricardo, oblivious to everything around him, hummed slightly while examining a bottle of pokemon shampoo.

"Hmm, this should-" Ricardo began.

"Shut up!" Dean shouted, grabbing Ricardo by the arm and yanking him into cover.

"Hey, what are you-" Ricardo exclaimed indignantly.

"Shut. Up." Dean hissed, gesturing to the front of the store.

The two figures were now talking to the store clerk, who seemed genuinely terrified.

"The Archangels have made you a very generous offer," one of them said, "sixty percent of your profits for total protection."

"Look, I'm sorry, but my boss would kill me," the clerk exclaimed, "please, just go!"

"Oh, don't worry," the figure chuckled, "your boss will come around after we re-educate him a little."

At that, the two masked men pulled out a bat and a crowbar, respectively, and turned to the clerk.

"What are you- oof!" The clerk was interrupted when one of the masks men sent his crowbar into his stomach. Once the clerk was hunched over, holding their stomach, the masked man raised his crowbar again and brought it down on his back. By now, the customers were beginning to flee.

"Wreck the place," the man with the crowbar said, "make it quick. Cops will be here any second."

"Let them come," the man with the bat giggled, "the city could do with a few less cops."

The man with the crowbar nodded, and turned to the clerk.

"No, please," the clerk moaned as the man raised his crowbar, "please no, PLEASE-"

"Okay, that's enough," Dean said, stepping out of cover.

The two masked men turned, and began laughing.

"Oh?" The one with the crowbar asked, "I say it isn't."

With that, he brought his crowbar down on the clerk's face. The clerk let out a cry, and curled into a ball.

"I suggest you leave," the man with the crowbar continued, "I try to draw the line at killing children- but I can make an exception."

"Oh?" Dean smiled, "C'mon then. Come and get us."

"Um, Ricardo would simply wish to point out that when he says come and get 'us', he really means just him."

"Just kill those two," crowbar said.

"With pleasure," grinned his partner.

As he took a step forward, however, Dean shouted, "Thane, go!" And a second later the grovyle was staring down the two masked men.

Something seemed... off, though. Thane's stare turned from regular aggression to unbridled hatred. His posture changed into something much more aggressive, and he began to growl slightly.

"Cute," crowbar grinned, "okay, kid. Lets do this."

The two each pulled out a pokeball- a second later, and Dean saw they had sent out a machop and an electrike.

"Uh, Ricardo," Dean frowned, "I could really use some help here."

"...fine," Ricardo sighed, "but Ricardo is getting whatever money the authorites may or may not award us for our vigilante justice."

With that, Ricardo leapt out of cover dramatically.

"MISS FIMBLES!" He shouted, "I CHOOSE YOU!"

Thane was soon joined by Ricardo's Marill, who seemed quite enthusiastic.

"Machop, use karate chop!" Crowbar ordered.

The machop rushed towards Miss Fimbles, who stayed in place.

"Water gun!" Ricardo ordered, gesturing at the ground in front of her.

"Marill!" Miss Fimbles agreed, firing a burst of water on the ground in front of her.

"Ha!" Crowbar exclaimed, "Your stupid Marill missed-"

He stopped laughing, however, when his machop actually slipped on the now wet floor and fell face-first.

"Wow," Dean whistled, "you actually know what you're doing."

"Of course! Ricardo is AHHHHHH-"

The other figure's electrike sent a bolt of electricity into Ricardo, who was now on the ground.

"You forgot about us," the man giggled.

"LEAF BLADE!" Dean shouted.

Thane let out a savage growl, and let loose a storm of razor sharp leaves which surprised even Dean. Leaf blade was usually more controlled than what Thane had just did- this attack was... well, it was more or less the same thing, but there was genuine animosity behind it.

The electrike attempted to dodge but was nearly ripped apart by the attack, and soon lay on the ground bleeding.

"What the hell-" the masked man gasped.

The electrike started to get to it's feet, but before Dean could even give an order,Thane rushed forward and slammed into the poor thing, sending it crashing into a nearby shelf. There was no doubt about it- it certainly wasn't getting up this time.

"What the hell was that?" Dean demanded, "I didn't order you to-"

The machop let out a yell, and started running towards Thane.

"Dynamic punch!" Crowbar shouted.

"Rollout!"

Dean turned just in time to see Miss Fimbles roll into the machop, knocking it over.

"Thane, use absorb!" Dean instructed.

Thane leapt on to machop. The machop tried to push Thane off, but the grovyle ha already begun to drain it's energy.

"Now finish it off with cut!"

Dean could swear he saw the grovyle smirk a little as it viciously cut into the machop.

Thane jumped backwards, landing at Dean's feet.

"Unbelievable," Crowbar scoffed, "how could we lose to a couple of kids?"

"Oh shit," the other man groaned, "oh SHIT! The cops!"

Dean smiled when he saw the police had, indeed, surrounded the entrance during the battle.

"If we're going down," Crowbar growled, "you're coming with us!"

With that, he leapt forward, ready to swing his weapon. Thane immediately used leaf blade, and a second later the man was on the ground clutching his wounds.

The other man dropped his bat and backed into the corner.

Thane took a step towards him, but Dean grabbed his shoulder.

"That's enough, Thane!" Dean snapped, "What's gotten into you?"

Dean heard the sound of the door open, and the police began to pile in.

"Good work boys," an officer said, "we'll take it from here."

"Ah!" Ricardo smiled, "But surely you have a reward for two ruggedly handsome heroes such as us, right?"

"Don't press your luck, kid," the officer frowned.

~o.0.o~

Dean and Ricardo watched as the police interviewed various witnesses, and examined the crime scene.

"So," Ricardo started, "as much as Ricardo enjoyed saving the day and being a hero, Ricardo is going to refrain from starting anymore battles with masked assailants."

"Yeah," Dean nodded, "so, those Archangel guys... Do you know who they are?"

"What, don't you?" Ricardo asked, surprised, "They first formed about... six or seven years ago. They used to operate out of Slateport as pirates, but about five years ago they were disbanded."

Dean's blood ran cold.

"Why'd they disband?" He asked.

"Their leader was thrown in jail," Ricardo said, "he was involved in the murder of a girl about our age, but he got caught."

"Why are they back?" Dean demanded, "What was the girl's name?"

"Easy, easy," Ricardo said, "listen, Ricardo doesn't know who the girl was. But their leader, a man named Jericho, he broke out of prison. They broke up into groups- one of which is operating here. Ricardo thinks that maybe a few of them stuck around in Slateport, but Ricardo cannot say for certain."

"Son of a bitch," Dean growled.

These were the people who killed his sister. They must have been- that would explain why Thane acted so viciously. He recognized the damn uniforms!

Dean began to storm off, much to Ricardo's confusion.

"Hey!" Ricardo called, "aren't you going to have your picture taken for the paper? Where are you going?"

Dean stopped, and looked back at Ricardo.

"I'm going to Slateport."


	2. Bad Vibrations

Dean and Thane walked through the Petalburg Woods woods side by side, careful to keep away from the tall grass.

"Okay, I heard about this Mr. Briney guy awhile back," Dean sighed, "he lives just in the other side of this forest, and he sometimes takes passengers to Slateport. I figure we talk to the guy, and if need be throw some money his way."

Thane gave him a look that seemed to say, "And what if that doesn't work? Then what?"

"We're gonna get to Slateport one way or another," Dean muttered, "if what that Ricardo guy said is true, then maybe I can find some of the answers I was looking for."

Thane gave him an inquisitive look.

"Don't play stupid," Dean frowned, "you know what I'm talking about. About... Clementine."

There was a brief silence that fell between the two, which Dean eagerly interrupted. Truth be told, he hated the quiet.

"She deserved better," Dean hissed, "and if this Jericho asshole really did have something to do with her death... I'm going to-"

There was a loud shriek from some nearby trees, causing the pair to jump.

"That didn't sound human," Dean frowned, "come on."

Dean quickly rushed to the site of the noise, Thane following behind closely. They stopped when they saw what had been the source of the noise: a skitty was being attacked by three wurmple. Although she seemed to be doing her best to fight them off, the skitty was clearly outmatched.

"Great, I just love seeing those freaky worm-things," Dean sighed, "okay Thane, they haven't noticed us yet. I want you to use cut on the one farthest to the left- then go for the one on the far right. That skitty is keeping the middle one occupied, so we don't need to worry about that yet."

Thane nodded, and got into position.

"Now," Dean instructed, "cut!"

Thane lashed out at his target, sending the wurmple flying into another tree.

"Finish it off with pound!"

Thane slammed in to the wurmple, which now lay unconscious at the grovyle's feet. The other wurmples had taken notice of their arrival, and one of them had used string shot, causing Thane to be enveloped in a mess of webbing.

"Damn it," Dean hissed as the two bugs closed in on Thane, "cut your way out of there!"

Thane was able to do so with some effort, but by then the two wurmples had already launched themselves forward, tackling him to the ground. The skitty, badly wounded, was leaning against a tree trying to regain her energy.

Dean considered his options for a minute. The two bug types definitely had the advantage over Thane, and were now attacking the poor grovyle with everything they had. Dean smiled as an idea came to him.

Dean whistled, and when Thane looked over, he mouthed, "false swipe!"

Thane nodded, took a step backward, and made it look as if he were getting ready for a vicious attack. Dean's plan worked, as the two wurmples, not wanting to get hit, backed off.

"SLAM!" Dean shouted suddenly, pointing to one of the wurmples.

Thane nodded, and slammed into one of the wurmples, which was knocked unconscious.

"Two down," Dean smiled, "finish that last one with cut!"

As Thane moved in for an attack, the wurmple once again shot out a strand of webbing, momentarily pinning Thane to the ground. Just as Dean was about to give an order, however, the skitty had leapt forward, and tackled the wurmple. The skitty then let loose a flurry of slaps that, while no doubt aggressive in nature, Dean found almost adorably comedic. It got the job done, though- soon enough, the final wurmple had taken its place with the others, and Thane had finished cutting himself free.

Before Dean could open his mouth, the skitty charged into him, clinging on to his leg and purring affectionately. Upon seeing this,Thane gave a slight huff and crossed his arms.

"Uh, hey there," Dean greeted, kneeling down to pet the skitty, "are you hurt?"

The skitty let out a slight mew and nodded.

"Okay, hold still," Dean frowned, "I've got a few potions in my bag."

Dean rummaged around before pulling out a potion, and applying it to the skitty.

"There. Feeling better?" Dean asked.

In response, the skitty resumed her purring and began to rub against Dean's leg. At this, Thane waltzed over and began to tug on Dean's jacket. The skitty, seemingly noticing Thane for the first time, hissed at the grovyle.

Dean reache down to pet the skitty when an idea came to him.

"So," he frowned, "I don't suppose you'd want to tag along with me?"

At this, Thane let out a slight groan of protest, but the skitty let out a happy meow.

"Okay," Dean smiled, "it's settled then. I'll call you... Zelda."

Zelda let out a happy meow, and turned to face Thane, who was glaring at her. The two stared each other down for a while, before Dean let out a sigh.

"Okay, that's enough," he sighed, pulling out two pokeballs.

The two were just about to pounce on each other when Dean had called them back into their pokeballs.

"Huh," Dean said after he put the pokeballs away in his bag, "I just realized- that's the first time I've caught a pokemon."

A smile slowly spread across Dean's face, and he resumed the trek through the forest.

~o.0.o~

Dean had just gotten out of the woods when his pokenav began to ring. He immediately ripped it out of his pocket, and sure enough- it was from an unregistered user. Dean scowled, and answered the call.

"Who is this?" Dean demanded.

"I wouldn't get on that boat if I were you."

"Who. Are. You?" Dean asked again.

The voice on the other line began to giggle.

"Why did you tell me to go to the pokemart?" Dean asked, "You must have known those men would be there, that couldn't have been a coincidence."

"You want to find your sister's killer, don't you?"

Dean stopped dead in his tracks.

"What the hell did you just say to me?" Dean asked, stunned.

"I'll be in touch, Dean Shepard," the voice snickered, "send my regards to that grovyle of yours."

Dean stood motionless as the line went dead. Dean slowly put the pokenav away, trying to make sense of what was going on. Whoever it was didn't want him on Mr. Briney's ship. Coming from anyone else Dean would likely have heeded the warning, but whoever it was put him in danger by sending him to those two thugs at the store. The person calling him couldn't be friendly. Could they? And how the hell did they know who Dean was?

Dean ran an hand through his hair, and thought for a while. He would take the boat after all. He just needed to exercise the utmost caution when he did. Getting to Slateport was what was most important to him now. For the past few years, he had no goals, no drive of any kind. Now that he did... now that he did, he wasn't going to let anything deter him from his current path.

And besides, the only other way to Slateport was blocked. Normally he would have used the caves up by Rustboro, but since the Archangels had moved in, he figured they wouldn't be willing to make nice.

Dean finally reached Mr. Briney's shack, and he gave a loud knock. It was a while before the old man answered the door, but he did so with a genuine smile.

"Ahoy!" Mr. Briney greeted, "I don't think I've seen you 'round these parts, lad. I'm Mr. Briney- what brings you out my way?"

"Uh, my name's Dean," he responded, "I heard you were a sailor. And the thing is, it's important I get to Slateport-"

"Aye, if you be needing a ride to Slateport, all you need is to ask!" Mr. Briney smiled, "I was already headed that direction, truth be told."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"He was taking me," a voice answered from behind.

Dean turned his head and saw a red-haired girl in a lab coat standing behind him. Despite the way she was dressed, she only seemed to be a year or so older than Dean.

"I'm Miri," the girl said, offering her hand for both Dean and Mr. Briney to shake, "and this is Ditzy."

Miri smiled, and gestured to a jigglypuff who was hiding behind her.

"She's a bit shy," Miri smiled apologetically.

"Oh, that's alright lass," Mr. Briney smiled, "now, let's be off, shall we?"

~o.0.o~

A few minutes later, and Dean found himself inside Mr. Briney's ship, sitting at a table across from Miri and her jigglypuff.

"So, what brings you to Slateport?" Dean asked.

"Oh, well, I'm an intern for Professor Birch," Miri explained, "I thought it would be a great learning opportunity, but all he's had me do is run around delivering packages. Which is also what I'm doing in Slateport- I've got something I need to bring to Captain Stern. What about you?"

"Me?" Dean frowned, "I'm just looking for some answers."

"Oooh, mysterious," Miri smiled, "answers to what?"

"I'd really rather not talk about it," Dean muttered to himself, "no offense."

"Sorry, it's none of my business," Miri apologized, "I shouldn't have pried."

"It's fine," Dean said, waving the apology away, "no harm done. So... you said you interned for Birch, right? What's that like?"

"Oh," Miri sighed, "it's... not what I hoped, to be honest. I mean, Birch is constantly out doing fieldwork, and the assistants are left analyzing whatever data he brings back. And he's not even that good at fieldwork- it seems like every time he goes out, he just gets attacked by a random pokemon only to be saved by whatever trainer that may happen to be passing through."

"Oh," Dean said, amused, "he doesn't sound all that competent."

"Well... I wouldn't say that, per se," Miri started, shifting a little, "he just has a little issues multi-tasking. I mean, he's spent the last few years trying to work on completing his pokedex."

"Why does that take so long?" Dean asked.

"Because he usually tries to get other trainers to do it for him," Miri sighed, "which doesn't really work out for him. The only trainer I know of who ever came close was a kid by the name of... Nick Ultra, Ultron, something like that."

"Wait," Dean said, leaning forward a little, "you mean Norman, the Petalburg gym leader's kid?"

Miri thought a moment.

"Uh... Yeah!" She nodded, "Why do you ask?"

"I know that kid," Dean scoffed, "we tangled a couple of times when I was still a trainer."

"When you were still a trainer? What do you mean by that?" Miri questioned, a little confused.

"It's complicated," Dean admitted, "when I was younger, I really thought what I wanted was to travel the world, taking down gym leader after gym leader, finding fame and fortune and all that. Raising a whole team of pokemon, becoming champion."

"What changed?"

"I don't know. I just realized it wasn't for me," Dean told her, "I still travel, which is nice, and I have my share of battles- but that's only because there's a good bit of coin to be made doing it."

"You only battle for... money?" Miri asked.

"Yeah," Dean smiled sadly, "for a long time, I didn't know what kept me going. So I just... drifted."

"But you know now?"

"Yeah," Dean muttered, "yeah, I do."

An awkward silence fell between the two. There came a moment when Miri like ready to say something, but Ditzy rushed over to her, pointing and gesturing wildly.

"Jigglypuff!" Ditzy exclaimed, "Jigglypuff!"

"What's wrong?" Miri asked, a tone of genuine concern in her voice. Miri picked up Ditzy and sat the jigglypuff in her lap. Ditzy gave a quick smile and calmed down a little, but soon continued her gesturing.

"Puff! Puff!"

Dean's pokenav began to ring, and Dean yanked it out of his pocket.

"What?" He demanded. He didn't bother looking to see who was calling- he already knew who it was.

"I told you not to get on the boat," the voice snapped, "you've got trouble. Three of them and two of you- I hope for your sake the girl can fight."

"Who ARE you?" Dean shouted, "Who's coming? Hello? HELLO?"

The line went dead, and let out a roar of frustration.

"What's going on?" Miri asked, looking worried, "Who was-"

"No idea," Dean growled, "I think we're in trouble though."

Dean grabbed his two pokeballs, and headed outside.

"Hey!" Miri exclaimed, "Where are you going?"

Dean didn't respond. He made his way to the very back of the ship, and squinted to try and get a better look into the distance.

"Son of a bitch," Dean hissed.

If he looked hard enough, Dean could just barely make out the shape of three figures riding towards the ship on what looked like jet skis.

"Thane, Zelda, I need you guys!" Dean exclaimed.

A second later, and the two were at Dean's side, shooting each other menacing glares. Thane took a step forward as Zelda let out a hiss- Dean, not amused, shouted, "Knock it off!"

The two pokemon turned and looked at their master.

"Okay, listen, some guys are coming," Dean told them, "I don't know who they are, or what they want- but be ready for a fight."

Dean heard the sound of the ship cabin's door opening and closing.

"Dean! What's going on?" Miri asked, "Oh, what an adorable skitty-"

"JigglyPUFF!" Ditzy exclaimed indignantly.

"Sorry," Miri smiled, "anyway, seriously Dean, what's-"

Dean pointed at the three rapidly approaching figures.

"Wh- who are they?" Miri asked.

"No idea- but I hope you know how to fight," Dean said.

"Woah woah woah, fight?" Miri gulped, "Why do you automatically think we're going to have to fight?"

"Someone who's apparently been stalking me called and told me we'd probably have to."

"WHAT?"

"Nothing, I- oh shit!" the boat began shaking violently as a huge stone was hurled into it.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure they aren't here for friendly conversation," Dean scowled, "whoever the hell these guys are."

"Sorry kiddies!" Mr. Briney called almost inaudibly from the helm, "Looks like we're hittin' some rough waters!"

"Rough waters- we're under attack!" Miri shouted.

"What?" Briney called, "Sorry, no good, can't hear you!"

"I need to go get him-" Miri started.

"Why? He's a senile old man!" Dean scoffed, "What good could-"

A boulder slammed into Dean's chest, and he slammed into the cabin door.

"Oh my gods, are you-" Miri gasped.

There were a few thuds coming from the stern. The three figures had managed to dismount their jet skis and jump on to the boat successfully, and now stood staring at the two teens.

The three figures were all dressed in red, but the one in the middle was wearing much more intimidating looking attire. The two men on the sides were wearing the old Team Magma uniform, while the one in the middle wore a hooded, blood red cloak over a suit of peculiar-looking iron armor. The design was almost similar to that of what a Roman Centurion would wear, but it came with a pair of gauntlets that resembled the claws of some grotesque creature.

By now, Dean had gotten to his feet, and was standing side-by-side with Miri.

"Whoever gave me the intel on this mission needs to be sacked," the man in the middle said cheerfully, "I was told it would only be the old man and the girl."

"And I was told this would be a smooth ride to Slateport. Life's a bitch sometimes, ain't it?" Dean asked.

"Oh, I couldn't agree more," the man nodded, "so tell you what. You folks just go ahead and give me the package that was meant for our dear old friend Captain Stern, and this encounter may not end in violence."

"Who do you think you are?" Miri asked, crossing her arms, "You can't just go around demanding-"

"Oh, sorry, how rude," the man laughed, "My name is Axel, of the Magma Remnants."

With that, Axel gave an over-exaggerated bow.

"And these are generic minions one and two," he finished, gesturing to his comrades, "now, hand over that package."

"Magma Remnants?" Miri asked, "Like, Team Magma?"

"The very same," Axel smiled.

"Wait, I thought someone took you and Team Aqua out," Dean frowned.

"Not so," Axel said, "Team Aqua may have disbanded, sure, but we endured. The most faithful of us, at least. Even the great Maxie abandoned his vision for a glorious new land after the incident with Groudon and Kyogre. But a few of us still saw purpose, and continued to push forward and regain our strength. Me, personally, I just like to hurt stuff, but hey, different strokes and all that, right? So, what's it gonna be?"

"No. I'm not giving you that package," Miri said flatly, "so turn around and go home."

"Oh, did you hear that, boys?" Axel asked, "She said no. It's clean up time! Grab your stuff and let's head home, eh?"

"Are you... Serious?" Generic goon number one asked.

"No, idiot!" Axel shouted, "We're leaving with those plans one way or another!"

Axel reached for his belt, where he had a pokeball attached. His goons followed suit, and soon enough they had released their pokemon.

The two goons had released a numel and a geodude (which must have been the source of the rock throwing) while Axel had a much more worrying pokemon; a blaziken.

Dean mentally face-palmed when he realize that his two pokemon consisted of a grass-type and a skitty who he had captured roughly two hours ago. Of course, Miri also had her jigglypuff.

"You're outclassed, buttercup," Axel said to Dean, grinning wildly, "I just hope that old man can get you to the hospital in time to treat your burns."

Dean said nothing, but did make note that there was a graveler being used. If Thane could take it out quick enough, the Remnants would be outnumbered. Dean wasn't quite sure that would be enough.

Then another idea occurred to him.

"Sure, you've got the type advantage- but look around," Dean smiled, "we're surrounded by water."

Axel's expression changed from one of glee to one of pure hatred; but only for a split second. Then, the smile returned.

"You won't be in this long enough to utilize the advantage," Axel told him, "we're going to rip you apart."

The two stared each other down for a moment, before Dean shouted, "LEAF BLADE!" And pointed at the graveler.

As soon as Thane use the attack, however, Axel launched and attack of his own.

"Blaziken, use double kick!"

Thane had just begun his attack when the blaziken landed its first kick, followed by the second. Thane was knocked to the ground, his attack missing it's target.

"Zelda, use-"

"Sky uppercut!" Axel shouted.

Before the skitty could do anything, the blaziken had made impact, sending her into the air and crashing back down.

Ditzy, in the meantime, managed to tackle the numel, which responded with ember. Needless to say, Ditzy had received the most punishment of the two.

When Thane managed to get to his feet, Axel had the blaziken tackle him back down to the ground. A simple attack, sure, but the blaziken's strength and ferocity made it more effective than usual.

"Flamethrower!" The goon with the numel ordered.

"Rock toss!" Demanded the other.

Zelda managed to dodge the rock being hurled at her, and while Ditzy also attempted to dodge, she was hit with a small portion of the flamethrower's blast.

"Ditzy, use sing!" Miri commanded.

Realizing what was about to happen, the trainers managed to cover their ears just as Ditzy began to sing. The pokemon, however, were not as lucky. While Thane and the graveler fell asleep, the numel and blaziken just looked momentarily distracted.

Once the song stopped, the two shook it off.

"Nice try," Axel taunted, "but I think our pokemon are a little too powerful to fall for tha-"

"Zelda, tackle!"

Zelda flung herself into the sleeping graveler, who awakened to find itself thrown dreadfully off balance. The graveler tottered for a moment, then fell over the edge of the boat and into the water.

"No!" It's trainer shouted, diving in after it.

"You useless-" Axel growled, "get back here, you... you..."

Axel let out a sigh, and shook his head.

"Well, that was a nice effort," Axel admitted, "but I'd say the ball is still in our-"

"Thane, use cut!"

Axel turned to see the grovyle had indeed awakened, and was making a move towards blaziken, who managed to dodge.

"You little shit," Axel hissed, "I was talking! You new to be taught some manners; Blaziken, use slash!"

Blaziken hacked into Thane, who let out a cry of pain. Once again, a non-fire type move. Dean was confused- a solid fire attack and Thane could have been out for the count a minute after the battle started. Then Dean realized what Axel said earlier was true- the man just liked to hurt things. He was playing with Dean. The battle could have been over by now, and the only reason it wasn't was because Axel didn't want it to be.

"Finish him off," Axel instructed, "use fire punch!"

As blaziken prepared the attack, Miri called out, "Use sing!"

Once more, Ditzy began her song. After Dean covered his ears, however, he had an idea. The blaziken and numel still weren't as affected by the song as everyone else. Maybe it was because Ditzy's abilities were weak (that would explain Thane's quick recovery) or maybe Axel was correct in saying it was because they were too strong.

But maybe a SECOND song would do the trick.

"Zelda- sing!" Dean hadn't much experience handling the skitty, obviously, but he had fought other trainers who used them. He knew some of them had been capable of singing- he just hoped Zelda was, too.

He was relieved when he saw Zelda begin to join in, and sing in harmony with Ditzy. The feeling of relief quickly turned into drowsiness, though. Just covering his ears wasn't enough. Dean tried to fight it, but he found himself slumping to the ground, eyelids becoming heavy. Well, what would be the harm in closing them for a few seconds?

~o.0.o~

Dean wasn't sure how long he had been out, but the only reason he had woken up in the first place was because of the tugging at his jacket.

Dean let out a groan, and slowly opened his eyes to see Zelda standing over him, purring happily. With some effort, Dean managed to drag himself off of the ground, and soon stood admiring the scene around him- everyone but he, Ditzy and Zelda were in the ground, asleep.

Dean grinned to himself, and glanced over at Axel.

"Alright, time to finish this," Dean said, immediately stifling a yawn afterwards, "Zelda, use tackle on that goon and his numel!"

Zelda let out a happy meow, and charged into the trainer first, and then the numel.

Since they had been leaning against the edge of the boat while they slept anyway, it didn't take much to send them overboard.

"Great job," Dean smiled, reaching into his bag, "just one last thing."

Dean pulled out a potion for Thane... and some rope.

~o.0.o~

"Unnf...what..." Axel groaned, eyelids beginning to flicker open.

"Oh, good, you're awake."

Axel looked up to see Dean standing over him, looking triumphant. Instinctively, Axel moved to reach out his hands, but found they were tied behind his back.

"...god damn it," Axel muttered.

"Oh, and your blaziken is taken care of," Dean informed him, "and I have to say, getting slapped to the point of unconsciousness by a kitten and a pink ball must be a pretty big blow to the poor guy's ego."

Axel turned his head, and saw that his blaziken was indeed laying on the ground knocked out.

"So what happens now, kid?" Axel asked, smiling a little, "I must admit you've certainly taken the driver's seat."

"What happens now?" Dean repeated, "What happens now is that to better learn how to swim with your hands tied behind your back."

"Wait a second," Axel panicked, "wha-"

Before he could finish, Axel found himself thrown over the side of the boat, plummeting downward. To his surprise, however, Axel found himself on solid land, not water. He smirked to himself a little- the boat must have been passing a small island.

"Good one, kid," he sighed.

A second later, his blaziken joined him, landing just a few yards away. Axel began to fumble with the rope binding his wrists together. But it wouldn't matter- by the time he got free AND revived his blaziken, the boat would be too far. And in the off chance he did catch up, he didn't have his back-up with him this time.

"Enjoy your victory while it lasts," Axel called out, "we'll meet again, buttercup. You just wait."

~o.0.o~

Back on the boat, Dean, Miri and their pokemon watched as the island grew smaller and smaller in the distance before disappearing altogether.

"That was clever," Miri smiled, "having your skitty sing a duet with Ditzy to knockout the enemy like that. It's a shame it worked on us too, though."

"Yeah, I can see earplugs being a worthy investment in the future," Dean joked, "but one thing's been bothering me- did Mr. Briney seriously not notice us waging war on his own damn ship?"

"Yeah, you'd think he'd at least have come out to check on us by now," Miri agreed.

As it turned out, Mr. Briney was below deck, eating a bowl of cereal while humming along to the radio nonchalantly.

"I guess it doesn't matter," Miri said after a while, "anyway, thanks for helping me with those Magma guys. If you hadn't been here, they would have stolen my package for sure."

"What is it you're carrying, anyway?" Dean asked.

"Um, I'd rather not say," Miri mumbled, "I feel bad about it after you went through a lot to protect it, but... it is top secret."

"I understand," Dean nodded.

At last, Slateport came into view.

"Well, I hope everything goes well for you," Dean said.

"And I hope you find what you're looking for," Miri smiled, "here, you have a pokenav, right?"

Dean nodded, and brought it out.

"Let me see for second," Miri said, taking it from him. She fidgeted around with it, and them gave it back.

"There! If you're ever near Littleroot, go ahead and give me a call," Miri offered.

"I will, thanks," Dean promised.

Then he turned to his pokemon.

"Come on, guys. Let's get ready to go."

~o.0.o~

The sun had already set by the time Dean stood on the beach outside Slateport. His two pokemon were at his side, and he felt a brief wave of pride come over him. It was second time he had encountered a criminal group, and he manage to pull out the win each time. Of course, he had help each time, but he jammed that thought in the back of his mind.

"Okay," Dean thought, beginning his walk to the city, "I figure we'll get a room for the night, and then see if we can pin down any leads on the Archangels tomorrow."

Zelda gave a meow of approval.

"You guys did great today," Dean said, "really. I'll buy you something nice once-"

His pokenav began to ring.

Dean's heart sank as he reached into his pocket.

"Please be Miri, please be Miri, please be-" Dean looked at the caller ID; the unregistered user. Dean clenched his jaw, and put the device to his ear.

"Hey there. I was starting to feel lonely," Dean called, "I thought we had something special. The sort of special where you seem to love puting me in harm's way."

"I warned you about the attack."

"Like hell you did! You spouted a bunch of cryptic nonsense before hanging up!"

"You know," the voice pointed out, "if you had a bird pokemon, it could have just flown you here. But instead, you're mixed up in something you shouldn't be involved in."

"And what might that be?" Dean snapped, "You know, you seem really content to just throw that kind of heavy out there without any sort of elaboration."

"Everything in it's time."

Something about that answer made Dean furious.

"Listen, you little-"

"You want answers?" The voice interrupted, "I'll tell you what. There's a hospital on the town's western edge. Not a pokemon center- a regular human's hospital. Meet me there tomorrow at noon, and you'll get the answers you want."

Dean opened his mouth to ask a question, but of course, the line had already gone dead, and Dean was left listening to faint static. Dean clicked off the pokenav, and put it in his pocket.

Dean stared up at the night sky for a while, lost in thought.

"We might as well get a move on," he said after a while.

And with that, Dean turned and made his way towards Slateport. 


	3. Obsession

It seemed like forever until noon came, and it was longer still before Dean could actually bring himself to enter the hospital. For a long time he and Thane merely stood outside, examining the building. It was old, older than most of the buildings in Slateport, and was constructed out of worn brick. The windows were grimy and cracked, nearly impossible to see through.

Of course, Dean thought to himself, this building must be abandoned. The hospital people actually USE must have been on the other side of town.

Dean checked the map on his pokenav, and found he was right. The mysterious caller had led him into an abandoned building on the far side of the city where no one else would notice anything too shady. At least, they wouldn't notice before it was too late.

"It's probably a trap," Dean said, looking at Thane.

Thane gave a facial expression that clearly said, "no, you think?"

"Let's just get this overwith," Dean sighed, opening the door and stepping inside.

Thane grudgingly followed behind, a look of disgust on his face. The inside of the hospital was dark, but they could still see much of the environment. Desk, chairs, papers, and other assorted garbage were strewn across the floor. A foul stench hung in the air. While it wasn't overpowering, Dean still wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Why couldn't that stalker have asked me to meet them at a casino, or a family restaurant?" Dean asked.

Dean heard the sound of footsteps directly above him, and he glanced around briefly to see where the staircase was. Upon finding it, he made his way over and began to climb up to the next floor, trying to remain as quiet as possible.

"Don't bother trying to sneak up. I know you're there," a voice from upstairs called.

Dean's eyes widened, and he stood frozen in place for a moment, unsure of himself. He briefly considered turning around and going back to his hotel, but his curiosity overcame his momentary fears. Whoever brought him here seemed to know a lot about him. Maybe they could give him some of the answers he was looking for.

Dean continued his way up the stairs, until he found himself on the second floor. No one was in sight- just an empty hallway.

"Just a little further," the voice said again.

Dean spun around. The voice had almost sounded like it had come from directly behind him- but no one was there.

"Upstairs," the voice instructed, "unless you're having second thoughts...?"

Dean looked over to Thane, who just snorted as if to say,"this was your idea, not mine."

"Okay, okay. Lets just get this done," Dean whispered, "come on."

The two soon found themselves on the third floor, which, again, seemed devoid of all other life.

"Where the hell are you?" Dean called out.

He took a few steps forward, and searched the area. It was just another dark hallway, a few doors on either side.

"Where-" Dean began.

"Here."

Dean spun around, and saw a girl standing almost directly behind him. She had extremely pale skin, black hair, and light grey eyes. She wore a brown leather jacket over a black tank top, jeans, and combat boots. Behind her, Dean noticed, stood a devious-looking hypno.

Dean wanted to speak, but he found himself unable to shake off the initial shock of the girl's sudden appearance.

"Not feeling very chatty today, are you?" The girl asked, a bored expression on her face, "Just as well. Words are meaningless. Our actions are what define us, after all."

"Who... Who are you?" Dean managed to choke out. He stared at the girl, an irrational fear slowly washing over him. To make things worse, the hypno let out a slight giggle.

"You may call me Aria," she responded, "but that isn't what you're asking me, is it? You want to know why I've brought you here. How I know what I know."

At this, Dean found himself regaining his composure.

"Yeah," he nodded, "that would be a nice start. Why the hell am I here- and what do you know about the Archangels? Why did you-"

"I preferred you when you stayed silent," Aria frowned, "but I suppose the least I can do is answer your questions, isn't it?"

Aria turned her back on Dean before speaking again.

"The truth is, I don't know much about the Archangels," Aria admitted, "I know the basics; I know their leader, their base of operations, and I knew they were going to hit that pokemart yesterday. And I know they left your sister face down in the ditch where she belonged."

"What the fuck did you just say?" Dean demanded, clenching his fists, "I swear to god if you talk about my sister again-"

"They're really a petty gang, the Archangels," Aria continued, seemingly oblivious to Dean's threats, "thieves and murderers. But... I had to let you think I knew more. I needed you here."

Aria turned around to face Dean, a chilling grin on her face.

"You, Dean, are very useful to me," she giggled, "so I'm afraid your story ends here. You certainly made a fine effort- defending both the pokemart and Briney's ship certainly was a good show. But that ends here."

Dean's eyes widened, and he took a step back.

"Raven, darling," Aria called, "use Night Slash!"

A cry echoed from the end of the hall, and Dean turned his head just in time to see a large shape flying towards him. The next thing he knew, he was on the ground, and there was a huge slash across his chest.

Dean also saw what had attacked him- a skarmory was now perched next to Aria, a grin on it's face.

"Thane," Dean choked out, "use-"

"Air slash," Aria smiled.

Raven flew forward, and slashed at Thane. The attack was immensely effective, and the grovyle fell to his knees.

"Hypno, you know what to do," Aria yawned.

Dean struggled to get up as the Hypno stepped into view, pulled out a pendulum, and began to swing it back and forth. Dean felt his eyelids grow heavy, and he soon found himself unable to move.

"What... what are you..." Dean asked, struggling to stay awake.

Aria knelt down beside him, a grin on her face.

"Like I said, you have something I want," she told him, "and this is really the easiest for all of us. No mess to clean. You'll just go straight to sleep- and then when I take what I want, my hypno over there will... no, I think it's best if I don't spoil the surprise. Sweet dreams, Dean."

Dean did his best to fight it, but soon te lull of sleep was too much to resist. His eyes shut, and he felt his consciousness slowly drift away.

~o.0.o~

When Dean opened his eyes again, he found himself in a lush green field, surrounded by trees.

"What the hell?" He groaned, rubbing the back of his head, "Hey, Thane? Thane, where are you?"

Dean sat upright, and looked around- Thane was nowhere to be seen, however.

Dean got to his feet, and tried to get a fix on his surroundings. Truth be told though, he had no idea where he was, or how he had even gotten there.

"Hello?" He called, "Anyone here?"

Dean hesitantly began to walk across the field. Despite the fact that it was a beautiful day, something felt... off, about his surroundings.

"What the hell is going on here?" Dean thought, stroking his jaw.

"Hey, Dean!" A voice called, "Where'd you go? Mom's going to KILL us if we're late for dinner again!"

Dean turned around, and saw someone approaching from the distance. Once they got closer, Dean saw who it was.

"Oh my god," Dean gasped, taking a step back.

"Dean, come on!" Clementine smiled, "What's the hold up?"

~o.0.o~

Aria watched with a smile on her face as Dean twitched and fidgeted in his sleep. Thane also lay unconscious a few feet away, but not from Hypno's trance- from Raven's powerful aerial attacks.

"Okay," Aria said, "let's get hat we came for."

She turned Dean on his side, and began to rummage through his bag.

"Come on," she frowned, "where is it-"

The sound of a door slamming open echoed through the hospital, followed by the sound of people talking and heavy footfalls. Aria got to her feet, and walked over to the window. Upon glancing outside, she saw two Magma Remnants posted on look-out outside the hospital.

"Well, it appears we were followed," Aria amused, "a careless mistake, I admit, but a few of the usual Magma goons won't pose much challenge. Hypno?"

Hypno looked over to Aria.

"Make sure Dean doesn't wake up," Aria ordered, "do what you have to. But don't kill him until I'm done entertaining our guests."

Hypno nodded, a smile on his face, and turned back to Dean.

"Now, Raven," Aria said, "let's see what they want, shall we, precious?"

Raven let out a squawk in agreement, and Aria began to descend the steps.

When she reached the second floor, she saw two Magma goons whispering to each other.

"Excuse me, gentlemen," she called out, "can I help you?"

The two turned around, and smiled when they saw Aria.

"Well, if it isn't the bitch herself," one said, "our eyes on the street just told us they saw that Dean kid wander in here. Finding you is just a bonus. I'm sure we'll be rewarded for bringing the boss your head."

"Cute," Aria chuckled, "there are what, four of you? And no one of any real rank by the looks of it, either."

"We're enough to take you down," the goon replied.

"I'm confused," Aria said, "I've never seen either of you before, so someone must have told you about me. How is it that you know who I am, but still insist on attacking me?"

"You're outnumbered," the goon smirked, "and we there are two more of us keeping watch outside."

"Yeah, I know," Aria sighed, "so I'll tell you what: I'll give you one chance to turn around and walk away."

For a minute, the two looked unsure of themselves- then the smiles returned.

"You're joking, right?" The goon laughed, "Come on, lets take care of her then find the kid."

The two reached for their pokeballs, and then called out a camerupt and a golbat.  
"Well Raven, what's the point in keeping the fun to ourselves?" Aria asked, "Go, Nightmare!"

Aria sent out a haunter, who grinned at her.

"Don't worry," Aria assured her two opponents, "I'll make this as quick as possible."

~o.0.o~

Dean watched in shock as Clementine approached him.

"Dean? Is something wrong?" She asked.

"No," Dean said, shaking his head, "nothing... nothing is wrong."

And that was the problem. Clementine looked exactly as Dean remembered her- her long blonde hair was tied into a ponytail, and her blue eyes glistened in the sunlight. She was dressed casually- jeans, sneakers, and a grey t-shirt.

"Then come on," Clementine smiled, "we need to get back home."

"Uh... yeah," Dean nodded, "yeah, I guess we do."

Clementine smiled, then turned and began to walk away. Dean, still unable to wrap his head around what was going on, followed her.

"So, are you excited?" Clementine asked.

"Excited? For what?" Dean frowned, puzzled.

"Taking on your first gym challenge with Thane tomorrow," Clementine laughed, "how could you forget? You've been talking about it all week!"

"Thane?" Dean repeated, "Thane... wait a second, where is he?"

"Back at the house," Clementine told him, "don't you remember? You wanted him to rest before the big battle tomorrow. Are you feeling okay?"

"Uh, y-yeah!" Dean stammered, "Just... nerves, I guess."

"I envy you a little," Clementine admitted, "part of me wishes I could go out and train pokemon like you. But I don't think that life is for me."

"It's not for everyone," Dean shrugged.

The doubt and confusion Dean felt was drifting away. Nothing was wrong- this was where he belonged, wasn't it? Here, with his sister. He couldn't remember his encounter with Aria and Hypno- he thought SOMETHING had happened, sure, but now it was fading from his memory like a dream.

Finally, they reached their house. Although Dean had lived in Verdanturf as a boy, in his dream world it made perfect sense that his house be in the middle of a field. Alone. With no other houses for miles.

"Uh, hey," Dean started, feeling more and more troubled as he thought about it, "do you, um... does our house seem strange to you at all?"

"Nnnnnno," Clementine said slowly, shaking her head, "why do you ask?"

Dean once again surveyed the vast field.

"No reason," he shrugged.

Clementine smiled, opened the front door, and stepped inside.

"Mom, we're home!" Clementine called.

"There you are!" Came the reply, "I was wondering where you to got off to. Come on, get inside. Dinner is almost done."

The two walked inside, and saw their mother, Sandra, working over the stovetop.

"Sit down, sit down!" Sandra smiled, "You must be starving."

Dean and Clementine took their seats at the table, looking at their mother expectantly. She appeared to be making a stew of some sort, and hummed quietly to herself while stirring the mixture.

"I'm so proud of you, honey," Sandra smiled, "your first gym battle! I'm sure you, Thane and Zelda will topple Roxanne!"

"Thanks mom," Dean smiled, "I'm going to give it my best."

"I know you will, hon."

Once Sandra turned around to serve the two their food, however, Dean nearly fell out of his chair.

Instead of his mother's face, the woman before him had pitch black eyes, and rows upon rows of jagged teeth.

"Wha- stay back!" Dean shouted, "Just stay the hell back!"

The monster let out a roar, and leapt across the table, tackling Dean to the ground. Dean let out a scream, and tried to shove her off- to no avail.

"Clem- Clementine! Help!" Dean called.

Clementine sat in her chair, watching with a blank stare.

"Please!" Dean pleaded, "I need-"

The monster leaned down and bit Dean's shoulder, tearing away a big chunk of flesh. Dean let out a cry of pain, and frantically tried to escape her grasp. The monster leaned in once more, and Dean shut his eyes tight, waiting for his flesh and muscle to be ripped from his bones.

To his surprise, however, it never happened. Although he was too scared to open his eyes for a time, Dean became aware of two things: that he was no longer being pinned down, and that the room had become deathly silent.

Dean slowly opened his eyes, and found he was no longer in his home. He was in a dark, nondescript hallway, alone.

Dean got to his feet, and looked around.

What the hell was happening?

Dean became aware of a presence behind him, and turned around. There stood a familiar face: Aria's hypno. Everything instantly came flooding back to Dean- what happened to Clementine, why he was in Slateport, what had happened before he had fallen asleep.

"You," Dean hissed, "you're messing with your mind, aren't you?"

The hypno tilted it's head upwards in acknowledgement.

"I'm going to rip you apart," Dean growled, "you and your trainer."

Dean took a step forward, and walked face first into an invisible wall.

"-the hell?" Dean asked.

A glimmer of amusement appeared in the Hypno's eyes.

"I'm... still asleep," Dean realized, "I must be. Hypnos.. hypnos have the power to alter and eat dreams. That's what you're doing isn't it? Messing with my head?"

In response, the hypno pulled out his pendulum, and began to swing it.

"What? I'm already asleep," Dean scoffed, "what are you trying-"

Someone gave Dean a rough shove from behind, and the next thing he knew, he was on the ground.

Dean turned, and saw Clementine- well, at least the dream version of her- walking towards him.

"Hey Dean," she hissed, "been a while, huh?"

"You're not Clem," Dean spat, "I don't know what tricks you think you can pull, but-"

"Tricks?" Clementine smiled, "No, no tricks."

At this, she grabbed Dean and yanked him off the ground. Her strength was incredible-the hypno had no doubt seen to that.

"I'm not going to play any tricks," she grinned, "no need. I'm content enough knowing the last thing you'll see before you die is your own sister tearing you limb from limb."

~o.0.o~

Aria watched as the enemy's golbat fell to the ground, unconscious.

"No way," the first magma goon said, "she took us both on- I didn't even land a single hit!"

"Who the hell are you?" The other asked.

"Shut up and listen carefully," Aria snapped, "I'm going to make you another offer since you were too dumb to listen to my first. Leave. Now. Or both of you are going to die."

The two looked at each other, and immediately fled downstairs.

Raven and Nightmare looked at Aria proudly, but she just shrugged.

"There are two more keeping watch," Aria reminded them, "we need to take them out to buy us some time. Come on."

The two pokemon nodded, and followed Aria as she rushed down the steps.

~o.0.o~

Clementine threw Dean across the hallway, and smiled as he landed face first on the ground.

"How does it feel?" Clementine asked, "To know you're going to die. That as we fight a hypno is in the real world, feeding off of your mind."

"It won't kill me," Dean panted, getting to his feet, "you can't die from-"

"Can't you?" Clementine laughed, "Think of dreams as a snack for a hypno. It's enough to sustain one, sure, but it still leaves them feeling hungry. The human mind, however, is the main course. Not just dreams, Dean. Your thoughts, memories, hopes, fears, everything. That hypno isn't going to settle for a few measly dreams when he can have everything he wants."

Dean tried to back away, but Clementine charge forward, and sent a kick into his chest. Dean fell backwards, and let out a groan as he hit the ground.

"So I'll ask again," Clementine continued, "what does it feel like knowing your going to die? I can tell you what the real Clementine thought. She was scared, Dean. Are you scared?"

The fake Clementine lifted Dean by the collar, and punched him in the face, breaking his nose. She hit him again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again.

"Answer me!" She demanded, "Are you scared?"

Dean nodded weakly, and the imposter delivered one last punch before dropping him to the ground.

"You're pathetic," she hissed.

Thoughts and images flashed into Dean's mind. He recalled him and Ricardo talking outside the pokemart after they defeated the Archangels, he recalled Zelda purring happily, grateful for her rescue, and Miri thanking him for saving her delivery. And then he thought of himself, lying lifeless in an abandoned hospital.

Dean clenched his jaw, and began to get to his feet.

"Are you joking?" The imposter mocked, "Just stay down!"

Dean clenched his fists, and stared straight into her eyes.

"My entire life, I've been scared," Dean said through clenched teeth, "when Clementine died, I ran. I did everything I could to make sure I didn't have to face what happened. I felt so guilty because I couldn't save her. I never could have."

"Of course you couldn't," She snapped, "you-"

"I can't bring her back," Dean continued, "but I can bring down those Archangel douchebags. And I'll be damned if you're going to stop me."

The imposter let out a cry, an rushed forward. She slammed her fist into Dean's face- but the effect was minimal.

"What the-" she gasped.

"You forgot something," Dean smirked, "this is my mind. Not yours."

Dean closed his eyes, and there was a bright flash of light followed by a scream. When Dean opened his eyes again, the fake Clemetine was gone. Dean turned around, and saw hypno standing across the hall from him, looking furious. It took a step forward and pulled out the pendulum, as if ready to fight.

Dean realize trying to fight a hypno while stuck in his own mind would be suicidal. He need to think of a way to-

"That's it!" Dean exclaimed.

Dean closed his eyes, and began to think hard.

"Please work, please work, please work," he chanted.

Dean was surprised when he felt something solid materialize in his hand. Dean looked down, and grinned once he saw what it was- a knife.

"You know, this dream stuff isn't so hard if you know what you're doing," Dean smirked, "and I hope to god I do know what I'm doing."

With that, Dean turned the knife towards himself, took a deep breath, and plunged it into his chest.

~o.0.o~

Dean awoke with a start, and bolted upright, gasping for air.

Was he really awake?

He looked around the room. Thane was sleeping a few feet away, while the hypno was looking around, bewildered.

Dean reached into his bag, and pulled out a chesto berry.

"Okay, Thane, time to get up," Dean said.

Dean opened the grovyle's mouth, and dropped the berry inside. Thane's eyes immediately shot open, and he leapt to his feet, looking around wildly.

"Hey, its okay," Dean said, "you were just having a nightmare."

Thane looked at Dean, and raised an eyebrow.

"Now, come on," Dean smirked, gesturing to the lone Hypno, "what do you say we get some payback?"

~o.0.o~

Aria sighed as she reached the third floor, and examined the splotches of blood she had on her jacket.

"Okay, hypno," Aria called, "I've taken care of them, go ahead and- what the hell?"

Aria's hypno lay on the ground, covered in cuts and bruises.

"What happened?" Aria demanded, walking over to the poor creature.

"This."

Aria turned just in time to see a flurry of razor sharp leaves hurdling towards her. She leapt out of the way, but a few of the leaves still managed to cut into her shoulder.

"Damn it!" She shouted, clutching her wound.

What frustrated her more was that she already made the mistake of recalling both her skarmory and her haunter- she could just as easily call them back out, sure, but Aria always preferred having an edge in that department.

"So," Dean began, stepping into view, "what was the plan after you killed me, huh? Better yet, why DID you try to kill me?"

Aria backed away towards a nearby window, and glanced outside. She had been hoping, maybe, that there was a ladder she could use for a quick escape, but what she saw was better- more team magma agents were headed towards the entrance, and in addition, there were a few nearby ledges she could use.

"It was nothing personal," believe me," Aria shrugged, "just business. You have something I want."

"And what would that be?" Dean asked.

Aria smiled.

"Where's the fun in telling you?" She asked.

With that, she pulle out a pokeball.

"Thane, use-"

"Relax," Aria snapped, "I'm not going to attack. This is HIS pokeball."

With that, she gestured to her hypno.

The hypno, in turn, looked at Aria, and held out a hand, perhaps asking for assitance.

What happened next, however, surprised Dean more than anything else that day.

Aria dropped the ball to the ground, and stepped on it, crushing it to pieces.

"You had one job," Aria said to the hypno, "and you blew it. You're useless."

The hypno lowered its hand, looking emotionally destroyed.

"You BITCH," Dean growled.

"If you care so much, why don't you take the thing?" Aria scoffed, "As for me... I need to be making my exit."

Before Dean could react, Aria bolted up the nearby staircase, vanishing from view.

"Shit," Dean groaned, "come on!"

Dean started to pursue her, but stopped when he remembered the hypno. Dean turned, and sighed.

The hypno's injuries were bad, alright. Dean realized that he and Thane had gone slightly overboard. If he didn't help the wretched thing, it might not last much longer.

"Damn it," Dean said to himself as he grabbed a potion from his bag.

Dean knelt beside the hypno, which looked up at him in amazement.

"Hold still," Dean ordered, "this might sting a bit."

Dean healed the hypno to the best of his abilities, and then looked at the creature.

"I guess your owner left you, huh?" Dean observed.

The hypno didn't respond to this.

"I... already hate myself for asking this, because you did just try to kill me... but truth be told I could use a powerful psychic type like you," Dean offered, "anyway you'd want to come with me?"

The hypno sat there for a moment, without any sort of acknowledgement. Then, after a minute or so had passed, it turned, looked at Dean, and nodded.

Dean pulled a spare pokeball out of his bag, and smiled.

"Alright," he said, "welcome to the team... Grim."

~o.0.o~

Dean let out a yawn as he left the hospital. He felt frustrated. After he healed Grim, Dean decided to see if he could catch up with Aria. He and Thane ran all the way up to the roof, but the only thing they caught was a very faint glimpse of Aria and her skarmory flying away.

Defeated, Dean had called Thane back into his pokeball, and made the walk back down to the bottom of the hospital in silence.

Now that he was back outside, he began to formulate his next move. This had been a bust, sure, but there still had to be a few leads to chase in the city.

"Okay," Dean said to himself, "I'll just stop by at the store really quick to-"

Dean was interrupted when a blunt object smashed into the back of his skull, knocking him unconscious.

As he lay on the ground knocked out, a few figures wearing Magma uniforms gathered around his body.

"Is this the kid?" One asked.

"Yeah," another responded, "it's a shame we couldn't find Aria after all, though. How did she manage to send four of our guys running?"

"Who cares?" The first scoffed, "We can get her another time. Besides, that's what we have the kid for, ain't it?"

"Yeah," the second figure nodded, "come on, lets get him back to base. Tabitha wants to see him."


	4. Some Kind of Nature

(A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long! I ran in to a ton of issues with school so this was put on hold for longer than I would have liked it to be. Anywho, I am pleased that my favorite character in this story makes a return appearance in this chapter, but it's the next few that are when things really start to get good, especially since there's a guest chapter coming up soon. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!)

"Hey. Wakey- wakey."

Dean wasn't sure which it was that woke him- the command, or the intense throbbing in the back of his head. He let out a groan and say there for a moment trying to gather his thoughts, eyes still closed.

"I said get UP!"

Dean felt something solid smash into the side of his skull, and his eyes instantly opened.

"Well, finally with us, eh?"

Dean let out a slight cough, and muttered a profanity when he realized who it was he was trapped with.

"Axel," Dean groaned, "awesome."

"Oh, so you remember me!" Axel grinned, "I'm absolutely TOUCHED."

Axel landed another punch to Dean's jaw, sending his head flying back. Satisfied, Axel stepped back to let the boy get his bearings.

Dean shook his head in an almost pathetic attempt to rid himself of some of the pain, and then looked around the room. They seemed to be in a cave of sorts with various machines positioned around the room- Dean himself was tied to a chair. Before he could speak, Axel punched Dean in the face once more.

"What... Are you here to torture me or something?" Dean muttered.

"Nah," Axel cheered, "I just love hitting you for some reason. Now, Tabitha on the other hand..."

"Look, what do you guys want?" Dean asked, "Is this about revenge, or-"

"Revenge?" Axel sighed, looking disappointed, "No. Unfortunately all we're looking for is information."

"Infor- about what?" Dean asked, "Look, I just want to get out of here! Tell me what you want to know and I'll cooperate!"

"You'll cooperate?" Axel frowned, "Thats a shame. I love it when you self professed heroes try to act brave. Course, that doesn't last long once Tabitha gets out the-"

"Axel!"

The two turned and saw a third figure emerge from the doorway.

"Speak of the devil!" Axel nodded, "what's up, boss?"

"I'll take it from here," Tabitha said, "you're needed in Lilycove."

Axel nodded, and gave a quick salute before exiting.

"So," Tabitha sighed, "Dean Shepard. You should be mindful of the company you keep."

"What are you-"

"Aria. The girl you were with yesterday," Tabitha said, turning sharply to look at Dean, "don't play stupid with me."

"I'm not," Dean said, "I don't know what you want me to say."

"Well, why don't you start with what you're planning," Tabitha snapped.

"Planning- are you crazy?" Dean asked, "I don't know her!"

"Oh, really?" Tabitha scoffed, "so it's a coincidence that Aria, one of our biggest adversaries, made several calls to your pokenav the day you ruin one of our operations? It was just random luck you met up with her the very next day, when she defeated several of our operatives in battle?"

"Yes!" Dean exclaimed.

Tabitha leaned in, and smashed Dean in the jaw with a right hook.

"Listen asshole," Dean growled, "I'm telling you truth, alright?"

"Oh?" Tabitha smiled, "Why don't we just verify that with your other accomplice?"

"Other accomplice?" Dean frowned, "What are you-"

Dean heard the door slide open, and three figures entered the room. The one in the middle had a bag over his face, and the other two were dressed in the magma uniform. The two grunts gave Tabitha a quick salute before throwing the masked figure to the floor and exiting the room.

"If you aren't willing to cooperate," Tabitha said, "maybe he will be."

Tabitha walked over to the figure on the ground, and yanked the bag off his head.

"Now, start talking," Tabitha hissed.

"Uh, of course! Ricardo will talk about whatever you like!" Ricardo gulped.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Dean sighed.

Ricardo looked at Dean, a spark of recognition in his eyes.

"Well, if it isn't the trainer Ricardo heroically saved back in Rustboro!" Ricardo smiled, "Ricardo wonders if maybe you could shes some light on the nature of Ricardo's sudden incarceration?"

"I'll make it simple- that guy over there is a real asshole," Dean muttered nodding his head in Tabitha's direction.

"I'm getting sick of your mouth," Tabitha muttered, "if you keep this up, I'll cut out your tongue after the interrogation is over."

"Well, while you certainly seem the cheery and amiable sort," Ricardo said, "why don't you just let Ricardo go so the two of you can work on whatever issues-"

Ricardo let out a sudden yelp of pain as Tabitha kicked him in the stomach. Ricardo's eyes misted over, and it took him a while to regain his composure.

"Or perhaps Ricardo can stay a bit longer," he wheezed.

"Good," Tabitha nodded, "now, for the last time, Mr. Shepard-"

Tabitha was cut off by an alarm that began echoing through the base, accompanied by flashing lights and muffled screams.

"For the love of-" Tabitha groaned as a magma guard appeared in the doorway.

"Tabitha, sir!" The guard exclaimed, "The base is under siege by Arkham mercenaries!"

"Wha- Arkham?" Tabitha demanded, "Don't they operate out of Johto?"

Tabitha turned to Dean and Ricardo, hatred burning in his eyes.

"If I find you two had something to do with this," Tabitha threatened.

Neither of the boys said anything in response. Dean merely looked at his feet miserably, while Ricardo dragged himself into a corner.

"You, come with me," Tabitha told the grunt, "send a few men down here while we deal with this situation. Give orders that if our prisoners try anything, they are to be put down hard."

The guard nodded and began to speak trough a headset.

"They'll be here momentarily," he said after a minute.

"Good," Tabitha nodded, "come on."

Tabitha and the guard exited the room, leaving Dean and Ricardo alone. Dean immediately began struggling with the ropes that tied him down.

"God... Damn... If I can just get some slack," Dean grumbled, "Ri... Ricky! Can you help me out here?"

Ricardo looked at Dean, and took a deep breath before answering.

"Ricardo is not so sure he should," Ricardo frowned, "given that any attempts at escape will be met with force."

"Maybe, but what do you think will happen to us if we stay?" Dean asked, "Look, we got incredibly Lucky. I don't know who these Arkham guys are, but escaping while those Magma assholes are distracted is out best bet."

"Look, Ricardo just doesn't-" Ricardo began.

"Let me put it this way. Either you help me out of this chair and we escape together, or I get out of this chair on my own and beat you within an inch of your life," Dean growled.

"Okay, okay, fine," Ricardo sighed, "give Ricardo a minute."

Ricardo scampered over to Dean, and began to try and loosen the ropes a bit. With some struggling, Dean was eventually able to get his arms free.

"Awesome," he smiled, "now just give me a minute to free my legs and-"

Dean froze when he heard the door slide open. A magma guard marched into the room, and began to shout for back up the minute he saw Dean getting free.

"Oh shit," Dean groaned, "Ricky, you want to-"

Before Dean could finish, Ricardo let out a scream, and charged at the guard while flailing his arms wildly. The guards response was a quick jab to Ricardo's nose, and a second later the teen was on the ground. This distraction, however temporary, still gave Dean enough time to finally free himself. Instinctively, he reached for his bag to grab Thane's pokeball, but face palmed when he kind it wasn't there.

"Of course they took my stuff," Dean groaned, "great, just-"

Out of the corner of his eye, Dean saw the magma guard charge at him. Dean tried to sidestep, but wasn't able to react quick enough. The guard shoved him up against the wall, and punched him in the gut, winding him.

"You should have stayed captured," the guard hissed, "as soon as back up gets here, you're-"

"EYARGH!"

Dean an the guard turned in time to see Ricardo lift the chair off the ground, and smash it into the guard's side. The guard fell to the ground, and Dean immediately ran and grabbed the rope that had been used to tie him up.

"Gimme a sec," Dean instructed, "and keep an eye out for anymore of these assholes."

Ricardo nodded, and turned to watch the door. Smiling to himself, Dean walked over to the guard, and after punching him in the jaw, Dean tied the guard's arms and legs together.

"This guy won't be causing any more problems," Dean sighed, "that Tabitha guy is either the most arrogant or stupid man I've ever met, though. I can't believe he'd leave us unattended like that."

"Perhaps our captor thought his underlings would respond quicker," Ricardo shrugged, "either way, Ricardo suggests we leave as quick as possible."

"Agreed," Dean nodded, "first we need to get out stuff. Shit, I hope they didnt hurt Thane or the others."

Just as the two approached the door, there was the sound of an explosion somewhere above them, and chunks of rock began to rain down from the ceiling.

"What the hell is going on?" Dean asked, panicking a little.

A few guards rushed past the door, not taking notice of either boy. Dean poked his head out of the doorway after a minute or so, and once he was confident no one else was around, he stepped out of the too an gestured for Ricardo to follow him. The two crept through the hallway, attempting to remain as silent as possible.

"Any idea where they might have taken our stuff?" Dean whispered.

Ricardo thought a moment before nodding.

"Ricardo remembers the guard saying something about a vault on the bottom floor," Ricardo explained, "Ricardo would wager that would be out best bet."

"Okay, bottom floor it is," Dean nodded, "now we need to find a way down."

The two wandered trough the halls a bit more before Ricardo smiled and said, "look!"

Ricardo pointed to a flight of stairs at the end of the hall,

"Nice," Dean smiled, "okay, let's head down and make it as quick as possible."

~o.0.o~

After reaching the bottom floor, Dean was greeted with an unnerving realization- they were the only ones there.

"This is weird," he muttered, "I expected there to be SOME form of resistance down here."

The two began to walk down the hall, until they finally came to a huge metal door with a keypad on the right side.

"Damn," Dean frowned, "it's password protected, looks like."

He tried opening the door, which only confirmed his suspicions.

"Crap! If our stuff is in there-" Dean groaned.

"We could always try to guess the password," Ricardo shrugged.

"And what would be the odds of getting it right?" Dean asked, "We could be here all day!"

"Hold it right there," a voice instructed, "turn around or my girl here is going to put you down fast."

Of course someone had to show up, Dean thought to himself, nothing was ever that simple, was it?

Dean put his hands up, and slowly turned to face a young man in a black uniform and headset and his jolteon.

"You don't look like a Magma goon," Dean said, confused.

"Huh. I was about to say the same to you," the man smiled.

The jolteon let out a growl, and the man turned to it.

"Maya, it's okay, girl," the man said, "I think they're friendly."

The man looked to Dean and Ricardo before asking, "Are you?"

"I think so," Dean nodded, "we were captured and brought here by these Magma guys. Then there was some sort of attack, and we managed to get free- we came down here to get our stuff."

"Okay, you can ease up, Maya," the man smiled, "these guys are on our side."

"Are we, now?" Dean asked, raisin an eyebrow.

"Unless you'd rather crack the security code and take on half the guards here on your own," the man shrugged, "look, we all need to get into the vault, and it won't be long before they find us here. The best thing for all of us would be to work together."

"Alright, you make a good point," Dean agreed, "I'm Dean, that's Ricardo."

"My name's Lucky," the man responded, "and this is Maya. Now listen, I've got a man working on the vault password- we just need to hold out long enough for him to get it for us. You guys are trainers, right? You have pokemon?"

"Well, yeah," Dean nodded, "but they were taken from us when we were brought here. That's why we need to get into the vault so bad."

"Great," Lucky sighed, "Lester better hurry up with that intel."

"So, who are you, exactly?" Ricardo asked.

"I'm from Arkham," Lucky explained, "I really can't say much more beyond that."

"Ah, a man of mystery," Ricardo smiled, "Ricardo can relate, with the life of adventure and heroism he leads."

"Yeah, you're a regular James Bond," Dean scoffed.

Lucky held up a hand, and listened to his headset for a second.

"Crap," he frowned, "listen, I've got word there's a couple of guys headed out way. You two need to wait by the door for me to give you the password. I'll hold them as long as I can, but as soon as you're able you get your pokemon and come help me."

"Got it," Dean nodded.

As Dean and Ricardo prepared to open the door, the sound of footsteps descending the stairs echoed through the hall. Lucky modded at Maya, who took an aggressive stance and watched the staircase carefully. A few seconds passed, and a Magma guard came into view.

"Now!" Lucky shouted.

Maya let loose a wave of electricity, and the guard was launched backwards.

"This," a familiar voice rang, "is why I always let someone else go first."

The three watched as Axel walked down the stairs, a smug loo on his face.

"What are you still doing here?" Dean groaned.

"I was just about to leave when I heard we were having a visit from the esteemed Arkham Corporation," Axel smiled, "so I just HAD to stick around and say hi."

"Well, you said hi," Dean growled, "so piss off."

"Ooh, now is that any way to talk to your host?" Axel asked, "I'm gonna have to teach you some manners after I'm done with Spanky over here."

"Oh, you think you can take me?" Lucky smiled, "Let's go, cowboy!"

"Right to the good part, eh?" Axel asked, "I think I'm beginning to like you! Of course, I'm still going to rip you apart."

Axel reached Ito his coat, and pulled out his poke ball.

"C'mon, let's teach these fools a lesson!" Axel grinned.

Axel brought out his blaziken, and pointed towards Maya.

"Double kick!" Axel ordered.

"Agility!" Lucky shouted.

As blaziken rushed forward to attack, Maya was able to jump out of the way.

"Quick attack!" Lucky called out.

Maya charged into the blaziken, which let out a grunt and staggered backwards.

"Sky uppercut, sky uppercut! Don't just sit there!" Axel shouted.

The blaziken managed to land the attack on Maya, although it didn't wasn't too effective. It still granted Axel enough time to follow up with ember, which dealt significantly more damage.

"Maya, you alright girl?" Lucky asked.

Maya nodded in response.

"Flamethrower!" Axel shouted.

"Agility!" Lucky said again.

Maya was able to dodge most of the blast, although she did catch the tail end of it.

"Finish her off- fire punch!" Axel smirked.

"Maya, thunder wave!"

Just as blaziken got in close, Maya sent out her attack, which was able to paralyze the enemy.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me," Axel groaned.

"THUNDER!" Lucky shouted.

The blaziken was sent flying by the force of the attack, although it manage to get to its feet a second later.

"I have to admit, I'm having fun," Axel smiled, "we're evenly matched, looks like. Unfortunately for you, the cavalry has arrived.

"What?" Lucky frowned, "I- oh shit!"

Lucky watched as two other Magma Remnants appeared next to Axel. One of them called out a golem, while the other brought out a mightyena.

"Sad to say I'll have to cut our little game short," Axel sighed, "once I'm done mopping the floor with you and your little buddies, I'm back upstairs to take care of the rest of Arkham. No idea what you mercs are doing in Hoenn, but it ends here."

"Not quite," Lucky, who had been listening to instructions he recieved on his headset, smiled a little.

"Boys, try the password 'six-zero-nine-five'," he instructed.

"What are you-" Axel started.

Axel's expression changes to a look of horror as he watched Dean and Ricardo enter the vault.

"Well played," Axel muttered, "still, won't make much difference. Crush him, boys."

Each of the goons stepped forward and gave their commands.

"Rock throw!"

"Bite!"

"Maya, quick-"

Before Lucky could finish, Maya was hit with a flurry of large stones, badly hurting her. The attack from the mightyena only served to worsen the wound. By the end of it, Maya could barely stand.

"Hold it together," Lucky said, "Maya, use-"

"Water gun!"

Lucky watched as a stream of water hit the golem dead on, causing it to let out a cry of pain.

"LEAFBLADE!"

A flurry of razor sharp leaves swarmed the golem, causing it to fall to the ground unconscious.

Lucky turned and saw Dean and Ricardo, now accompanied by Thane and Miss Fimbles.

"Bout time you got here," Lucky smiled, "can you keep these guys busy while I heal Maya?"

"We got it," Dean nodded, "don't worry."

As Lucky began to heal Maya, Dean and Ricardo stepped forward.

"You know, I really hate you guys," Axel sighed.

"Yeah, I know," Dean smiled, "Thane, use slam on mightyena!"

"Use water gun on blaziken!" Ricardo ordered.

Thane slammed into Mightyena, causing it to fall to the ground. The blaziken tried to dodge the water gun, but was unsuccessful in its efforts, and was soon writhing on the ground.

"Slash!" Dean ordered.

"Rollout!"

Thane began viciously slashing into the mightyena until it fainted. Ricardo's attack, however, didn't work out as he planned.

The blaziken shrugged off most of the damage, and retaliated by delivering a hard kick to Miss Fimbles, launching her into the wall across the room.

"Well, ya dun goofed," Axel said, "blaziken, use-"

"HYPER BEAM!"

A beam of energy flew across the too and into the blaziken. There was an explosion of light, and then both Axel ad his Pokemon were on the ground.

Dean and Ricardo turned to look at Lucky, who smiled.

"I knew learning that would be a good investment," he said, "come on. I need to grab something from the vault, and then we're out of here."

Lucky disappeared into the vault, and a few minutes later, reappeared with a black suitcase with a gold 'H' on the front.

"What's in there?" Ricardo asked.

"No idea," Lucky admitted, "all I know is I'm getting paid a ton to deliver this to my boss. Now come on- let's get out of here."

~o.0.o~

An hour or so later, Dean, Ricardo and lucky stood outside the Magma base.

"Where are we, exactly?" Dean asked, looking around.

"Just south of Mauville," Lucky explained, "listen, thanks for your help today. It could have gotten really messy without you back there."

"Same for you," Dean said, "good luck with your job or whatever."

"Yeah, thanks," Lucky nodded, "just try not to get kidnapped by those guys again."

With that, Lucky turned and walked down the path, leaving Dean and Ricardo alone.

"So... What now?" Ricardo asked after a while.

"Now?" Dean asked, "Now we hit up the casino. I could use a drink."


End file.
